Felony:  The term "felony" is a crime for which the punishment is for a prison term of one year or longer (typically in a state prison, not a county or municipal jail).  Some serious felonies (e.g., murder) can carry the death penalty in states that still have the ultimate punishment.

Misdemeanor:  Misdemeanors are typically crimes for which the maximum punishment is possibly incarceration for one year or less.  Some states call for jail terms in the local jail, while others call for it in the state system.  Most states categorize DUI/DWI offenses as misdemeanors, except possibly where the DUI/DWI is a "repeat" offense, or where a death or serious injury from a DUI-related accident causes the DUI/DWI to be upgraded to a felony.

Retainer:  A contract between an attorney and his or her client.  Typically in some written form, retainers can be oral.  The payment of money to the attorney as a "retainer" signifies an agreement for the attorney to act on the person's behalf and to represent the person in the legal matter that is the subject of their "contract".  In many criminal cases, a retainer is a partial payment toward the ultimate, total fee that may be due in the event the case requires certain hearings, trial or possibly an appeal.  To avoid confusion on the exact terms and schedule of other payments, retainer agreements should be in writing in virtually all cases.

Nolo Contendere:  A form of a plea in a criminal case or traffic case in which (instead of say "I am guilty"), the person is basically saying, "I will not 'contest' or defend the charge against me".  Sometimes called by its shorthand name, "nolo", the availability of this type of plea is often controlled by state statute.  In DUI/DWI cases, it is not unusual that a "nolo" plea is unavailable in all or some situations (e.g., an underage driver arrested for DUI/DWI may not be eligible for a nolo contendere plea.)  Furthermore, a "nolo contendere" plea is nearly universally counted as a DUI/DWI offense, for license suspension purposes and for mandatory minimum punishment enhancement purposes.

Citation:  A legal document authorized by state statute, usually issued by a police officer directly to the person being "charged" with some minor offense (usually a traffic violation) identifying the nature of the accused offenses.  A citation usually identifies a date, location and time to appear in court to answer charges.  More serious crimes (and sometimes even traffic offenses) are "charged" in a more formal document either called an accusation, an indictment, an information or a complaint.  In issuing citations on less serious offenses (i.e., a "moving violation" such as speeding) police officers rely upon the majority of cited drivers to appear at court when and where requested.  The alternative would be to make a physical arrest of the person and possibly the posting of cash bail or use of a bondsman or property bond to post bail.  A person's failure to appear (FTA) in court to answer a citation typically results in an arrest warrant being issued for the "no show" party.  In most states, a "failure to appear" (FTA) triggers a notice to the state driver's license agency (i.e., DMV, DPS, BMV, RMV, SOS, or DOT) to revoke or suspend the person's license until the "citation" has been handled.

Accusation: The form of charging document that a prosecutor uses to identify each specific type of crime alleged to have been committed.  An accusation is typically several "counts" (separate offenses) that identify, in general terms, how, when and in what fashion the offense was committed.  In DUI/DWI practice, a person might be accused in alternative "counts" of an accusation with (1) DUI-alcohol (drunk driving), (2) DUI-per se (being above the state's alcohol blood level), (3) DUI-drugs [impairment from prescribed or illegal (i.e., cocaine) drugs], AND (4) DUI-alcohol AND drugs, by being under the combined impairing effects of both alcohol and some type of drug.

Information:  See accusation.  The term 'information' is used in some states to describe the detailed accusatory instrument that the prosecutor uses to bring the formal charges against you.  In most jurisdictions, no grand jury is required to hear the underlying charges for an 'information'.  The prosecutor's staff drafts these charging documents, after a full review of the evidence collected by the law enforcement officers at the time of arrest (or investigation of an alleged crime, if not done immediately after the offense occurs).

Complaint:  See the definitions under accusation and information.  The word 'complaint' is another term-of-art used by some jurisdictions.  A complaint is also the starting document in civil litigation, where monetary damages are being sought, or a divorce is being sought, etc.

Indictment:  A method of accusing a person of crimes, usually felonies, wherein a group of citizens are convened to hear the prosecution's evidence against a person in some sort of alleged criminal charges.  A grand jury is a holdover from English common law, and is set forth in statutory and constitutional provisions of your state's laws.  An indictment is either reported out of the Grand Jury as a "true bill" (meaning they are charging the person with the crimes set forth in that document, or as a "no bill", which means that the group of grand jurors did not find sufficient, credible evidence that the crimes alleged to have been committed REALLY were committed.

Probation:  A judge usually has the option of jailing a convicted offender or may sentence to some or all of the potential jail time on "probation".  The basic tenet of "probation" is that the offender (who has been given a chance to avoid straight jail time by the sentencing judge) will not get into additional trouble during the period of the probation term.  If so, a "probation revocation" may occur.  While on probation, the offender must report to and stay in touch with a probation officer to assure that the judge's orders are complied with.

Probation revocation:  When a judge has permitted an accused person who either pleads guilty or is FOUND guilty at trial to NOT GO TO JAIL for some portion of the sentence handed down, the judge sets conditions under which the person can stay out of incarceration.  The failure of the probationer to follow the judge's "conditions" can and usually does lead to a "probation revocation".  Typically, the person is seized (arrested) first.  Thereafter, on a fixed schedule of that judge, the violator is given a day in court to explain or challenge the "violation".  Individuals who are on probation no longer enjoy all the constitutional protections that he or she had BEFORE the guilty (or nolo contendere) plea or guilty verdict at trial was rendered.  For example, the 'standard of proof' in a criminal trial is the HIGHEST in the world: proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  In a probation revocation, depending on the state you are facing a revocation in, it is either preponderance of the evidence or probable cause to believe that a violation has occurred.

FTA: (acronym for "failure to appear")  When a person is issued a traffic citation, accusation, information or complaint and then does NOT show up for court on the stated date and time, the judge will usually order any bond to be forfeited to the court system.  Most of the time one or all of the following ADDITIONAL sanctions will occur to a person who fails to appear: (1) the driver’s license will be suspended or revoked, leaving the person exposed to being jailed for driving on a suspended license, if stopped again for any traffic offense or at a roadblock; (2) a warrant or contempt citation can be issued, and the police can then go pick up the person and incarcerate the person UNTIL a new court date is given; and (3) in some states (such as South Carolina) that have an INTEGRATED licensing and auto insurance system, the automobile insurance carrier will be notified of the license suspension, and the policy may then be cancelled.

Copyright © 1996-2004 William C. Head - A Georgia DUI Attorney
All Rights Reserved. No Copying, Duplication or Reproduction
of the Content or "Look and Feel" Of this Web Site is Permitted.